B'luru: Rs 2 cr fraud in Vidyaranyapura linked to multi-city currency scam; cops suspect complainant too

Bengaluru’s Vidyaranyapura has become the center of a high-profile financial fraud case involving a staggering Rs 2 crore and a possible fake foreign currency exchange racket. What initially appeared to be a straightforward complaint has now taken a complex turn, with police suspecting even the complainant’s role in the incident.

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On June 25, a man named Sriharsha filed a complaint stating that Rs 2 crore in cash was snatched from him by unidentified men during a currency exchange deal in MS Palya. He claimed he was attempting to convert Indian rupees into USDT (Tether cryptocurrency) to import machinery for an oil company he was starting.

However, what has shocked investigators is that Sriharsha himself is an accused in a similar fraud case registered at KR Puram Police Station, where he allegedly cheated a rice mill owner named Ashok of Rs 2 crore during a foreign currency exchange deal. Ashok had reportedly planned to purchase Japanese machinery and was promised $2.2 lakh USDT in exchange for his funds, but Sriharsha vanished after collecting the cash.

Both incidents occurred during similar high-value foreign currency exchanges, raising red flags. In the KR Puram case, an FIR has been registered against eight individuals, and Ashok has demanded strict action.

Currently, Vidyaranyapura Police have detained four suspects and are conducting intense interrogations to uncover what appears to be a broader scam network. With both victims and accused overlapping across cases, officials are probing whether this is part of a larger pan-India cryptocurrency or hawala-style racket.